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i WM..LOUGHRIDGE,MOF` WEVERTON,`MARYLAND.

\ j; Specification. cfu-Letters Patent No. `1 1,293, dated July 1 1, `1854.

i To all whom/ may concern fRIDGE, of VVeverton, in-the` county of Frederick and State of Maryland, have invented new Fand useful i Improvement i in `the fMode 4off Freeing Canal-Boatsandwlother Vessels from Vater; and I do hereby declare-that theifollowihng.- is. a full, clear, and exact dcscription off the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to l the annexed drawing, formingwpartiofthis specification, in which- Figure l is a plan of interior of boat, showing the arrangement for effecting the removal of the water. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a view showing the operation of my arrangement. Fig. 4 is a front.view of roller and tube.

Similar letters refer to the same part.'

My invention has for its object the discharge of the leakage from canal boats and other vessels without the employment of pumps.

It consists in the peculiar arrangement of a float in the interior of the vessel, combined with a tube operating on the siphon principle, by which the discharge is rendered automatic and the vessel freed from its leakage at all times, without theassistance of the crew, rendering examinations as to the.

' quantity of water made unnecessary and obviating the necessity for a watch to pump out during the night.

The construction and arrangement of my improvement, as well as its operation, will be understood by the following description,

reference being made to the drawing, in whichi A represents the boat, and the space between a and a the thickness of the bottom planking, in which I insert a bent tube b open at one end (c), and connected at the other with a metal or gutta percha tube d. The open mouth c is slightly above the surface of the plank, and has resting upon it a valve e, having on its under surface an elastic pad for giving a perfect contact with the mouth c of the tube. This valve is securely fastened to a float B, kept in position by means of arms f f perforations in which pass over Standards L. This float is placed between the ribs and bottom and oor of the boat, and will rise so as to free the mouth c of the tube b on the admission of a very slight depth of water to the hold of the `boat by leakage. l The gutta percha` tube v l after-ascending tol theideck is wound `around aireel m, as shown in Fig. 4, so` as to be coniveyed toany position w'ithoutthe boat and `withinlthe limits of the tube. i The operation-of theiinteriorarrangement pertaining tomy invention will beshownA by Fign 2, where l for illust-rationthe tube is bent around the outer surfaceof thevessel All and= permitted to@ terminate-` at a lower level than the bottom `=ofithe boat. Nowif there be a` leak ini thebottomfof theboat- A,

when a proper depth of water has covered the bottom, the float B will rise, and lift the valve e from the mouth c of the tube Then if the air be exhausted from the tube Z the water will flow fro-m the mouth of the tube CZ, and the valve continue to fall until the water in the hold is nearly down to thc level of the mouth c of the tube'b, when the attraction of the mouth of the tube overcoming the buoyancy of the valve endof the float B, the valve e drops upon the mouth c of the tube before said mouth has become uncovered for the admission of air. A risc of the water in the hold sufficient to overcome the attraction of the mouth e of the tube for the valve e, lifts the iioat and opens the mouth c of the tube Z), causing the discharge of the water from the lower end of the .tube d to be resumed,.which discharge will continue until the valve e again drops on the mouth 0, as before. In this way when my mode of discharge is once put in operationa rise of water in the hold suflicient to lift the float will produce an immediate discharge from the mouth of the tube d, which will continue until the depth of water is so reduced that the valve e drops upon the mouth c o-f the tube Z9 and. stops .the iiow,

thus rendering the operation of this water.

deliverer automatic, and always preventing a rise of water in the hold above that required to cover the mouth c of the bent tube In practice the interior arrangement will be similar to that shown in Figs. l and 2, but the tube cl, which will be made of gutta percha, will after passing above the deck be wound on a reel fm, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to be run on shore as will be hereafter described. When the boat is tied up for the night the reel is rolled off the deck, permitting the tube to unwind, as shown in Fig. 3. The reel is run down the berm bank, 0r any suitable situation given the tube d which will bring the end g lower than the bottom of the boat. Air is then expelled from the tube by a small air pump, or by pouring water into the end g of the tube, or in any suitable manner. The discharge will then begin and continue, as above described, until the valve e shuts down on the end c of the tube b. Vhen the water rises in the hold to lift thefloat the discharge is resumed, and will continue until stopped by the dropping o-f the valve e, the operation in practice being as explained from Figs. l and 2, the tube Z discharging the leakage whenever the water rises above the floating point of the float B, wit-hout the necessity of any watch or the interposition of any human agency.

rIhe water discharging arrangement is of the greatest importance on canals where cargoes are oft-en greatly damaged by negli- `gence on the part of the watch in pumping out the leakage, though it may be rendered available for many other purposes which require a similar discharging arrangement.

I donot of itself claim the discharge of water from the vessel by the exhausted tube d; but

What I do claim as new and of my own invention is- The herein described arrangement of float,-

WM. LOUGHRIDGE.

Witnesses GEO. PATTEN, SAML. GRUBB. 

